‘Inspecting Carol’ is hilarious> Cast having great fun

Reviewers have poker faces. They sit in theaters and stay straight-faced while every one else laughs and cries and has emotions. Reviewers say: Want to know what I think? Read it in the paper, but don’t look for it in my response here tonight.

So this is a rare and difficult confession: I lost it last weekend at a production of “Inspecting Carol,” a comedy being presented through Nov. 24 by Winterport Open Stage. I have to admit I laughed out loud. Very out loud. Think of Santa and his ho-ho-hos. That was me.

My response had everything to do with the clever script, first presented in 1991 by Daniel Sullivan in collaboration with the The Seattle Repertory Company. It is meant to be a spoof — specifically on the Seattle theater and generally on Nikolai Gogol’s Russian farce, “The Government.” But it has turned out to be a rather hilarious comedy about arts funding and the internal politics of actors and directors, and the choices that have to be made to keep theaters up and running.

Director Reed Farrar has done a swell job of taking a family of community actors and creating a show that has a lot of laughs and pertinent lessons. That’s not to say that there aren’t bumpy moments when inexperienced performers forget their lines or unstable set pieces don’t do what they are supposed to do. The show, in fact, gets off to a slow start, and there are moments that elicit laughter for all the wrong reasons. But there’s no denying that “Inspecting Carol” is a giggling good time — made even more amusing by a heartfelt and enjoyable fledgling troupe.

The story takes the audience backstage at The Soapbox Playhouse, which is preparing its bread-and-butter holiday performance of “A Christmas Carol.” The artistic director is in a tizzy because an evaluator from the National Endowment for the Arts is expected to attend opening night and decide if funding should be extended or cut for this theater. It’s a tense time, and everything that could go wrong does. But there’s a triumphant ending, and one worth sitting through for the nearly three-hour performance. (A word to the wise: Winterport Open Stage has some of the BEST intermission food in town; bring more than just the $4 admission fee.)

As the show progresses, so do the cast members, and when they finally pick up speed, the humor really works. Many of the performances are worth lauding, but the standouts are Chris Hodgkins as Larry-Scrooge, Daniel Clark as Wayne-Tiny Tim, and Rudy Rawcliffe as Phil-Bob Cratchit. Roger George, as Walter-The Ghosts, will probably have a hard time living down this performance. Best known locally for his role in real life as a cosmetologist and hairstylist, George joined the rehearsals less than two weeks before opening night. Yes, he has stage fright from time to time, but it’s easy to give him a break because he’s such a sweetheart onstage.

A dozen performers make up this cast, and more than a dozen offstage hands helped put the piece together. They’re having fun, and it shows. There are plenty of moments when you will be reminded that this production is a labor of love, but you’ll laugh out loud — particularly if you’re up on your Dickens. You may laugh louder than you expected to. And you may even unwittingly lose your poker face.

Winterport Open Stage will present “Inspecting Carol” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22 and 23, and 2 p.m. Nov. 24 at Wagner Middle School on Mountain View Drive in Winterport.